The present invention relates to the field of airline travel. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of boarding passengers using aircraft boarding piers, and specifically to methods of moving passengers through aircraft boarding piers that service smaller, regional aircraft. The present invention provides, among other things, a method of integrating a regional aircraft boarding pier in an airport concourse with existing bridges for larger jet passenger aircraft and a method of moving passengers through the integrated boarding system to provide easy transfer between regional aircraft and larger aircraft.
Air travel has becoming increasing popular over the past decade and has evolved to handle an ever-growing passenger volume. An important aspect of this evolution is the structure of flight routes through a xe2x80x9chubxe2x80x9d airport. Today, hub routing has become an essential part of the efficient operation of an airline. This trend has been aided by the advent of regional aircraft. As used herein and in the appended claims, the term xe2x80x9cregional aircraftxe2x80x9d refers to jet or propeller aircraft that are smaller than typical large commercial airline passenger jets and are used to service regional, as opposed to national, passenger routes. Regional aircraft will typically be identified as having about 110 seats or less. Aircraft with substantially more than 110 seats and which are used to travel traditional airline routes between major airports are considered xe2x80x9clargexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9clargerxe2x80x9d aircraft or jets herein. The advent of regional aircraft has created a new market for air travel in which air passengers can span relatively large distances quickly on a regional aircraft at the end or beginning of a trip while using a larger jet to cover the bulk of the trip mileage. Manufacturers of regional aircraft, particularly craft with 50 or fewer seats, include Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer S A, Canada""s Bombardier and Fairchild Aerospace of the United States. The popularity of regional aircraft produced by these manufacturers has exceeded expectations. For example, Bombardier forecast initial sales of 400 aircraft when it launched its regional jet model in the early 1900s. Bombardier instead received orders and options for 1,066 of its CRJ-200 50-seater airplane and slightly larger derivative craft. Similarly, Embraer booked dozens more orders than expected for its ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 aircraft at a recent Paris air show.
Capitalizing on this strong commercial interest, Bombardier has launched the CRJ-700, a 70-seat aircraft, and plans an even larger BRJ-X model with 90 or 110 seats. Fairchild has recently launched the 70-seat 728JET and also offers a longer version with around 100 seats. Embraer has also booked orders for its new ERJ-170 and ERJ-190, with about 70 and 100 seats, respectively.
Despite its advantages there is at least on significant problem with regional aircraft travel. The regional aircraft terminal is often located at a site remote from the main terminal that services larger aircraft. Consequently, a passenger on a regional aircraft, whether transferring to or from a larger airplane, needs to traverse the length of the airport and/or travel between terminals to make the transfer. Additionally, the remote location of the regional aircraft terminal also affects airline scheduling for large aircraft because passengers must be allowed time to traverse the often large distances between a regional aircraft boarding gate and the boarding gate for the large aircraft.
As air travel becomes increasingly popular and important to the economy, the frequent regional aircraft passenger represents an increasing share of the air travel market. Consequently, the problems presented by the remote location of the regional aircraft terminal that prevent quick and seamless plane transfers for the regional aircraft passenger must be addressed.
Another problem with regional aircraft travel is that the passenger is frequently required to walk outside on the tarmac and climb stairs to board regional aircraft. If the weather is inclement, boarding and deplaning from a regional aircraft is made more difficult than boarding and deplaning from larger aircraft entirely within the closed and conditioned space of conventional airports which have been developed for large aircraft.
Where a passenger is unable to walk, boarding a regional aircraft from the tarmac in a wheelchair can present additional problems. In the past, these problems have been addressed by building some kind of wheelchair lift. However, such boarding is often time consuming and can be a source of embarrassment or self-consciousness for the wheelchair passenger. The combination of a wheelchair lift and inclement weather may make the prospect of regional aircraft travel even less acceptable for disabled passengers.
Consequently, there is a need in the art to make regional aircraft travel more convenient and efficient. Specifically, as regional aircraft become more prevalent, a need exists to integrate terminals and boarding gates for the regional aircraft with terminals and boarding gates for large aircraft in a manner that overcomes the problems of the prior art.
The present invention meets the above-described needs and others. Specifically, the present invention provides a method of moving passengers through a regional jet boarding pier system that allows regional jet passengers to transfer quickly between larger aircraft and regional aircraft within, for example, a single terminal or concourse of an airport.
Additional advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows or may be learned by those skilled in the art through reading these materials or practicing the invention. The advantages of the invention may be achieved through the means recited in the attached claims.
The present invention may be embodied and described as a method of operating an air travel system using an airport terminal or concourse that has at least one regional aircraft boarding pier. The regional aircraft boarding pier includes: a primary passenger bridge extending from the airport terminal or concourse; a pier hub connected to the primary passenger bridge; and a plurality of secondary passenger bridges connected to, and extending from, the hub, each secondary passenger bridge having a docking end for docking with a regional aircraft. The method of the present invention is performed by boarding a passenger on a regional aircraft by sending the passenger through the regional aircraft boarding pier.
Sending the passenger through the regional aircraft boarding pier may also be a step in transferring the passenger to or from the regional aircraft in a travel itinerary that includes both larger and regional aircraft. In on such example, the method may include deplaning the passenger from a regional aircraft by sending the passenger through the regional aircraft boarding pier; and informing the passenger of a designated gate having a boarding bridge for a larger aircraft in the same terminal or concourse, the larger aircraft being the next connecting flight in the travel itinerary of the passenger. The passenger is then through the boarding bridge for the larger aircraft at the designated gate.
Alternatively, where the airport terminal or concourse further has at least one boarding bridge for a larger aircraft, the method may include deplaning the passenger from a larger aircraft by sending the passenger through the boarding bridge for that larger aircraft prior to sending the passenger through the regional aircraft boarding pier. The passenger is then informed of a designated gate at which is located the regional aircraft boarding pier where a connecting flight in a travel itinerary of the passenger on a regional aircraft is or will be boarded.
The present invention may also encompass a method of organizing an air travel system by: identifying a route within the air travel system that is serviced by using both a larger aircraft and a regional aircraft; and locating a connection between the larger aircraft and the regional aircraft in an airport terminal or concourse that includes both a larger aircraft boarding bridge and a regional aircraft boarding pier. The regional aircraft boarding pier referred to has the same components noted above.
This method may also include minimizing the distance between the large aircraft boarding bridge and the regional aircraft boarding pier by having the larger aircraft boarding bridge and the regional aircraft boarding pier in a single airport terminal or having the larger aircraft boarding bridge and the regional aircraft boarding pier in a concourse of interconnected terminals of an airport. Additionally, the method may include constructing an airport terminal or concourse that includes both a larger aircraft boarding bridge and the regional aircraft boarding pier.